Multi-contact connector



March 25, 1958 B. FOX 2,828,474

MULTI-CONTACT CONNECTOR Filed Sept. 29. 1953 ATTOAA/ v UniteMULTLCDNTACT CUNNECTUR Benjamin Fox, Philadelphia, Pa. ApplicationSeptember 29;, 1353, Serial No. 383,053

4 Claims. (Cl. 339.-.185)

the plug and the socket are both assembled from identically constructedparts. These parts comprise, in each case, a pair of separable casingmembers having opposed pairs of complementary contact receiving cavitiesin the opposed surfaces thereof, and identical, flat, bifurcated,electrical contact members in said cavities. The cavities are soarranged that one opposed pair of them receives a contact member in oneplane, and another opposed pair of them receives an identical contactmember in a second plane normal to the first mentioned plane. Thecooperating pairs of cavities are also so formed and arranged that thecontact members can be received therein either with the bifurcated endsthereof wholly within the assembled casings, in which case a female orsocket member is provided, or with the bifurcated ends of the contactsextending out of the casings to thereby provide a male or plug member.Such plug and socket members can be brought into mating relation witheach other to provide electrical coupling, the contacts of the plug andsocket members straddling each other and engaging each other in crossedrelation at their bifurcated ends to afford electrical contact. Toinsure electrical contact which is good and of low electrical resistanceand to afford high current carrying capacity, the opposed edges at eachbifurcation of the contact members are chamfered or tapered. Thisprovides inclined surfaces of comparatively large area along which thecontact members engage each other as shown, for example, in Fig. 14 ofmy above identified reissue patent. Thus, good electrical contact isprovided from the instant that the contact members engage one another.

In the forms of contact members disclosed in my above-identified PatentNo. 2,750,572, the legs of the contact members provided by thebifurcations therein are spaced from one another a distance such thatthe cooperating legs of a pair of crossed, mated contact members engageeach other under tension to insure firm engagement between the contactmembers. Depending upon the characteristics of the material of which thecontact members are made and the number of times cooperating contactmembers are engaged with and disengaged from each other, the tensionsometimes is decreased to a point where the coupling is not as firm asmight be desired. This difficulty I have now completely overcome byterminating the ,space between the legs of each contact member in arelatively large opening which acts as a sort of hinge to providegreater resiliency between the contact legs.

2,828,474 Patented Mar. 25, 1958 2 Thus, engagement of the crossed legsof any pair of m ed Con a mem ers nder sui a le ens on i al ays assured.

As shown in my above-identified Patent No. 2,759,572 the Contac rec vi gcav ties in h ca g members a he n ac em e t ems ve s shared that thecontact members are received fairly snugly in the cavii It as en fou dha in pite o care exercised in fabrication of these parts, difiiculty isoccasionally enco n ed n br n in coope atin con est m mbe s. n matingrelation. This may be due to such causes as bind: n f c nt s memb rs, osli t misali ment betwe cooperating male and emale s ct membe s, whichare a h rmly 0r ri id seat d n the r cavit es a d t entrance openings ofcavities in whigh the female contact em er a simila s ated- Th' 1 1W 1 ae l overcome by tapering the contact w ,b s so that they re fieat us vated. n he nape e ca it es Th nd o h ont c me b r s a o de and a oleable degree of m s li n ent o coope a n con es a h s i p tt d without nany Way r uc n h ef ciency of n c een e a n conta t m m ers- Thus, it isn O j c f my re tn enti n o Pro ids an improved electrical connector ofthe type described the plug and socket members of which can always bereadily mated even if their contact members are initially misalignedsomewhat.

Another object of my present invention is to provide an improvedelectrical connector as aforesaid the con.- tacts of which will be freefrom binding and can be mated quickly and easily. I

Another object of my present invention is to provide, for electricalconnectors of the type described, improved electrical contact memberswhich will alwaysretain a suflicient degree of tension to insure firmengagement be: tween two such contact members when th are mated andirrespective of the number of times such contact members may be joinedor separated,

Another object of my present invention is to provide improved electricalcontact members as aforesaid which are so constructed that, when theyare arranged as male contacts in plug members, they will be readilyreceived in the entrance openings of the associated socket members wherethey will be guided readily into mating relation with their associatedfemale contacts. 5

Another object of my invention is to provide a socket casing of aplurality of parts wherein two complementary parts form openings throughwhich a wire which joins the contacts passes so that the wire is clampedfirmly by the casing parts which define the openings in order to relievethe strain imposed upon the wire.

Another object of my invention is to provide a bifurcated contact memberwherein the spaced contact surffaces of the respective legs areconstructed to taper with respect to one another so that, when the legsof a pair of such contact members are mated, the contact surfacesthereof will become substantially parallel one to the other to permitthe ultimate or maximum contact areas between the mating legs of thecontact members.

Other objects of my present invention are to provide improved electricalconnectors of the character described which can be manufactured easilyand economically, which can be assembled with great ease and speed,which are sturdy in construction, and which are highly efficient inoperation.

With the above and related objects in view, my present inventionconsists in such details of construction and combination of parts aswill be more fully understood from the following description, when readin conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which: i i i i Fig. 1is a perspective view of a two-contact electrical socket member of thequick detachable type in accordance with my present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a two-contact plug member according tomy present invention constructed to interfit with the socket member ofFig. 1 and made of identically constructed parts as those forming thesocket member.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a pair of mated plug and socket members such asthose shown in Figs. 1 and 2 but with the top casing members of eachremoved.

Fig. 4 is a sectional View taken along the line 44 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a sectional View taken along the line 55 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged, plan view of a contact member according to mypresent invention.

Fig. 7 is an end view of this contact member as seen from the right ofFig. 6.

Fig. 8 is an exaggerated view showing the taper upon the legs of eachcontact.

Referring, now, in greater detail to the drawing wherein similarreference characters refer to similar parts, there is shown, in Fig. 1,a two-contact socket member, generally designated as A, which is adaptedto be connected to one side of an electrical circuit. The socket memberA is formed by assembling an upper cap or casing member 10 of electricalinsulating material with a lower cap or casing member 11 of similarmaterial, and a pair of identical, flat, electrically conductive contactmembers, generally designated as B. This assembly is held together by abolt 12 and a nut (not shown) all as more fully described in myaforesaid Patent No. 2,750,572. In Fig. 2 is shown a plug member,generally designated as C, which is complementary to and cooperates withthe socket member A. The plug member C is assembled from the same partsas the socket member A and also comprises an upper cap or casing memberIt a lower cap or casing member 11, and a pair of contact members B,these parts also being held together by a bolt 12 and an associated nut.However, whereas the contacts 13 have their circuit completing endswholly within the casings 10 and 11 in the socket member A (see Figs. 3and 4), the corresponding ends of the contacts B in the plug member Cextend outwardly therefrom, as best seen in Figs. 2 and 3.

The contact members B are all identical and consist of flat members ofcopper or other suitable, electrically conductive material. Each contactmember B has a terminal head 13 to which a lead or conductor 14 may besoldered for external connection. At the other end, each contact memberis bifurcated by virtue of a slot 15 along the longitudinal center toprovide a pair of contact legs 16 which are spaced from each otherlengthwise of the contact by the slot or space 15. Between the head 13and the legs 16, each contact member is formed with a constricted neck17 by virtue of opposed, arcuate notches 18 in the outer edges thereof.Beginning at the notches 18, the outer edges of the legs 16 taper towardeach other longitudinally on a relatively slight or gradual taper for adistance 19 of approximately three-fourths of their lengths to points26. From the points 20, the outer edges of the legs 16 taper moresharply toward each other along portions 23. up to the extreme ends ortips 22 of the legs where the end portions 23 of the legs taper inwardlyeven more sharply for a short distance and meet the inner edges 2 of thelegs 16 at the slot or space 15.

The inner edges 24 of the legs are charnfered or tapered in thickness ata 45 degree angle to present fiat contact surfaces or areas 25. Inmating position, the contact members B as above described lie inperpendicular planes, as seen in Figs. 3 and 5. The legs of one contactmember straddle the legs of the other with the charnfered surfaces 25thereof in engagement with each other to provide electrical contact oflarge area. The transverse dimension of each slot 15 (i. e., thedistance between the '4 opposed inner edges 24 of each contact) is suchthat the contacts will engage each other under tension in order toprovide firm electrical contact. To insure this at all times, the slotor space 15 terminates adjacent the base of the legs 16, where the legs16 have their greatest overall, transverse dimension, in an enlarged,circular (or other suitably-shaped) opening 26 which has a diameter orcorresponding transverse dimension which is appreciably greater than thetransverse dimension of the slot 15.

1 Thus, the opening 26 provides a hinge action which affords making theslot 15 slightly narrower than would otherwise be possible. As the twocooperating contacts are brought into mating relation, their respectivelegs 16 are spread apart slightly by virtue of the aforementioned hingeaction to permit a smooth sliding action between the respective pairs ofcontact legs while still providing adequate tension to insure goodelectrical contact.

The insulated caps 10 and 11 have opposed, complementary cavities 27, 28and 29, 30 in the opposed surfaces thereof. The cavities 27 and 28,which are spaced laterally from the cavities 29 and 30, are formed withvertically aligned slots 31 and are mirror images of each other. Thecavities 29 and 30 are also mirror images of one another and are formedwith horizontally aligned slots 32. The cavities 27, 28 are also formedwith horizontal ledges or seats 33 on which a female contact member B isseated horizontally with its legs 16 wholly within the casing members10, 11 (see Fig. 3). Each of the cavities 27, 28 is also formed withparallel, vertical side Walls 34 at the ledges 33 and opposed, curvedprojections 35 which are received in the arcuate notches 18 forconfining the contact on the ledges 33 against removal from the casings.The projections 35 are formed on a smaller radius of curvature than arethe notches 18, and since the side edges 19, 21 of the legs are taperedas above described, it is clear that the contact is free to rocksomewhat about the prcjcctions 35 and float on the seats or ledges 33.

To form a plug or male member C, a contact B may be similarly fioatinglymounted in the vertically aligned slots 31 of the cavities 27, 28 withthe legs 16 thereof extending out of the casings It 11, as seen in Figs.2 and 3. This male contact member B may then be inserted into thevertical slots 31 of the socket member A to mate with the horizontalfemale contact member on the seats 33 of the socket member. Thus, themale and female contact members are mated in crossed relation, as shownin Figs. 3 and 5. The sharp taper at the contact leg portions 21 insureready entrance of the male contact member into the slots 31.Furthermore, the sharp taper at the ends 23 of the contact members,coupled with their floating mountings, insures suitable alignment of thetwo cooperating contact members as they are brought into engagement witheach other. j

The cavities 29, 36 are formed with vertical ledges 36, horizontal walls37 adjacent the ledges 36, and projections 33 which correspond,respectively, to the ledges 33, the side walls 34 and the projections 35of the cavities 27, 28. Thus, within the socket member cavities 29, 30,a female contact member B is fioatingly seated vertically (see Fig. 4).Within the cavities 29, 3%} of the plug member C, on the other hand, theassociated male contact member is fioatingly mounted horizontally withits legs 16 extending therefrom. These latter two contact members cantherefore also be mated in crossed relation similarly to those in thetwo sets of cavities 27, 28. This type of mounting, except for thefloating action, is more particularly described in my above-identifiedPatent No. 2,750,572.

The cavities through which the insulated conductors 14 pass in thesocket member A are of such dimension that the casing members it," and11 firmly clamp the insulation of the conductors so that they firmlyclasp the conductors to prevent them from being pulley away from thecontact members B. This clamping action of the casing members serves torelieve the strain upon the conductors. It is further to be pointed outthat the space 15 between the legs 16, 16 may taper somewhat. The widestpart between the opposed edges 24 of each leg 16 is, in such case,adjacent the opening 26, and the narrowest part is adjacent the leg endportions 23, as shown in Fig. 8. This helps provide tension between apair of mating contact members by reason of the spring action whichtakes place, the surfaces 24, 24 of the opposed legs becoming parallelto one another when the contact members are mated, although theiroriginal position in nonmating position was at an inclination one to theother.

Although my invention has been described in considerable detail, suchdescription is intended as being illustrative rather than limiting,since the invention may be variously embodied.

I claim as my invention:

1. An electrical coupling device comprising, in combination, a pair ofseparable casing members adapted to be assembled in contacting relationand having opposed, complementary contact cavities in the opposedsurfaces thereof for reception of a flat contact member therein, saidcavities having cooperating, reiatively elongated seats therealong, anda flat contact member mounted in said cavity and disposed on said seatslengthwise thereof, the outer edges of said contact member being taperedrelative to the sides of said seats whereby said contact member is ofsmaller transverse dimension than said seats and therefore is free tofloat on said seats.

2. An electrical coupling device as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidcontact member and said cavities include cooperative means for looselyconfining said contact member in said cavities against removal therefromwhen said casing members are assembled therewith, the loose confinementof said contact member in said cavities afiording freedom of saidcontact members to float in said seats.

3. An electrical contact device comprising a member having a slotextending from one end thereof to provide a pair of spaced legs and alsohaving a discrete opening of greater transverse dimension than saidslot, said slot terminating at said opening whereby to providerelatively great resiliency between said legs, and said member havingopposed notches in the outer edges thereof to provide a constrictedportion between said notches.

4. An electrical contact device comprising a member having a slotextending from one end thereof to provide a pair of spaced legs and alsohaving a discrete opening near the base of said legs of greatertransverse dimension than said slot, said slot terminating at saidopening whereby to provide relatively great resiliency between saidlegs, and said member having opposed notches in the outer edges thereofbeyond said base to provide a constricted portion beyond said opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re.20,162 Draving Nov. 10, 1936 Re. 23,547 Fox Sept. 9, 1952 1,516,415Thomas Nov. 18, 1924 2,129,725 Alden Sept. 13, 1938 2,193,940 SchmittMar. 19, 1940 2,406,895 Olson Sept. 3, 1946 2,538,296 Crocker Jan 16,1951 2,554,876 Olson May 29, 1951 2,573,533 Barocas Oct. 30, 19512,750,572 Fox June 12, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 206,011 Switzerland July 15,1939 355,608 Germany June 29, 1953 675,587 Great Britain July 16, 1952704,658 Great Britain Feb. 24, 1954 Disclaimer 2,828,474.-BenjaminF0522, Philadelphia, Pa. MULTI-CONTACT CON NECTOR. Patent dated Mar. 25,1958. Disclaimer filed Feb. 28, 1966, by the assignee, Eloo Uorpomtz'on.

Hereby enters this disclaimer to claims 1 t0 4 of said patent.

[Oficz'al Gazette May 3], 1.9661]

